Get to Know Lady of the House SA Winner Lu-Zer and Their Journey to Owning Their Creativity
Born Lungile Sibanyoni in Umhlanga Rocks, Durban but shaped by the experiences of Centurion, Johannesburg rising artist Lu-Zer has always wanted the life of a singer since the age of five. In between then and winning the Lady of the House SA competition, life has been a journey of confirming their gift and a lifelong testing that has brought forth the maturity needed for them to come to their own as a professional artist. With their debut single “Ndawo Yami”, Sibanyoni has reached an echelon that was once a childhood fantasy.
Lu-Zer traced their passion for making music all the way back to when they were still a pre-schooler, before chronicling the milestones of their growth as a music-inclined creative honing their artistry.
Lu-Zer | SUPPLIED
“I’ve always had a love for music. I remember when I graduated in pre-school, when they asked everyone what they wanted to be, I said that I wanted to be a singer. At the time I wasn’t decided on what I wanted to do, but for some odd reason I gravitated towards saying I wanted to be a singer.
“In the years that followed much later, I ended up writing songs from when I was in primary school. I was always rapping with my friends in Grade 7 and writing things in my school books, lyrics and all that. The first time I recorded an actual song was when I was in high school, and I was around fifteen at the time. I only shared it with two of my friends since I’ve always been a wallflower who was shy to perform. I then started to take it seriously once I got to varsity with like-minded best friends,” Lu-Zer said.
Lu-Zer shared their feelings on their evolution from being a person accustomed to staying to themself to coming out of their shell and embracing the call of the stage, the mic, and the lights.
“Because I was pretty shy when it comes to performing, I never thought I would dive into music professionally. I got the push to perform more from my friends because once they started to hear me sing and also heard my beats, they encouraged me to get into music more. That’s why it’s kind of crazy to have won the Lady of the House SA competition, because I had no music out prior to that—‘Ndawo Yami’ is my debut. When I look at the way things have turned out, I’m convinced that I’m destined for this path. Even though things are not happening in a way that I imagined, they have fallen into place in a way to get me started,” the rising star said.
Lu-Zer | Credit: @ft.wo0ds
Thinking back to their much more callow years, Lu-Zer expressed the one lesson that they have learned that they felt would’ve stood their younger self in good stead.
“I feel like the biggest life lesson I would’ve done better with in my younger years is to believe in myself and just do it. In the past I had a tendency of overthinking things, wanting everything to be perfect first, and staying stuck on wanting to be good enough to be heard first before committing to a release. And because of that, I found myself comparing myself to other people with established platforms and who already had a label and access to producers who could make amazing beats for them. Because I always felt I wasn’t there yet, I held back my music. Even with ‘Ndawo Yami’, it was a song I was never going to release—I only did because my friend pushed me to. So I definitely wish that I could tell my younger self to release music and that they will grow as time goes,” Lu-Zer said.
They talked about reconciling themself to living with their imperfections and heartening themself to open up more in their music.
“I’ve learned how to embrace those flaws I have and being able to share parts of me with people I would’ve normally kept close to my chest. The need to be perfect came from my childhood and always wanting to be the best and to be a top achiever. I mean, I’m still scared to show the flaws and to be vulnerable in my music, so it’s territory that I am slowly reclaiming,” they said.
Lu-Zer | Credit: Instagram
Lu-Zer talked shop about the various ventures that are a part of their portfolio outside of the music.
“I usually edit videos and I get into my modelling bag when I’m not doing music. And by modelling, I’m talking fashion design, styling people, and working with a lot of creatives while I’m at it. And because I have a visual eye, I’m versed in photography and I do have some side projects I work on. Like, I’m still in the entertainment industry with all those things, but not on the music side of things. I’d even classify myself as a multidisciplinary creative because of the many hats I wear,” Lu-Zer said.
With them having conquered their fears, Lu-Zer revealed what their grandest hope was for the future.
“Years from now, I picture myself helping other creatives who feel like they are outsiders, which is also the story behind my name—I once felt like a loser because I was an outsider given the way I used to dress and the things I used to create. So I want to create a space for people who might feel like outsiders but are creators of beautiful things. I want to have my own creative agency off that brand to get into fashion and more art and to create more music,” they said.